I can’t buy a 3 lb bass!

[BrianMDTX]

I’m stymied. I have caught 3-4 lb bass out of the pond I fish relatively consistently, and several 5 lb’ers as well. Things were great through the first week of May, but since then, it’s been a steady diet of dinks and 1 to 2 lb’ers. It’s strictly C&R, so they’re still there, but they ain’t havin’ what I’m selling’. 
 

I caught 10 bass last Thursday and 9 today. None over 2 lbs. And today started off so well. I went to grab a rod rigged with a Whopper Plopper but grabbed the Dobyns rigged with a jerkbait. I figured I’d give that a shot and I nailed a bass on the first cast, working just off a weed bed about 7’ from the bank. A few casts later and another bass hit it as soon as it hit the water (that’s been happening frequently as of late). I switched to the WP and then a Megabass PopMax thinking they were hitting topwater but no dice. I tried a white/chartruese spinnerbait, a tube, a Neko Macho TR and a Mann’s Jelly Worm. Nothing on any of that. The only thing besides that jerkbait that caught fish were #297 and #196 Senkos on a WR. The bottom was a dead zone. 
 

Not really complaining as I did catch 9 bass, but something bigger than 2 lbs would be a blessing. 
 

 

I will add that fishing so low to the water in my inflatable does not allow me to work a jerkbait as God intended lol. But it does catch bass. 

[roadwarrior]

Time to find some new water. 2-3 lb bass in Texas just don't cut it. 

 

[txchaser]

Three situations have delivered better fish for me in north texas on smaller waters, at least since the

summer pattern showed up (water here is now over 90). 

 

It seems like the summer pattern came on hard and fast, and the only thing showing up on topwater is dinks, probably chasing dragonflies or something like that. Which is a drag because post-spawn was epic on topwater. All the fun summer stuff like buzzbaits and frogs has been a bust so far. 

 

1) If there's a creek channel mouth on that pond, a big worm deep and/or deep cranks. Biggest since the summer transition was on a big worm, but deep cranks delivering decent weight.

 

2) Soft plastic swimmers like a swim senko, fished real low around isolated weeds clumps, and or staged deeper from the bluegill beds. 

 

3) Steep dropoff from a flat. Might be up on it, might be just off it. Mid-column, mostly chatterbait. 

 

[BrianMDTX]

@txchaser, this pond is not stream-fed. It’s kept filled by rain. And it’s pretty high at the moment. And not very deep. Maybe 8’ at the deepest. I’ve caught bass on big worms, but lately nothing of size. 

 

@roadwarrior, I hear ya. I could see if I never caught anything over 2 lbs here. There are 5, 6 and 7+ lb bass in this pond. For some reason I’m just not getting them to bite on anything. 

[txchaser]

Yeah if yall have rain like we had up here, it's kind of messed up the patterns. Going after spots around the gill beds might be the best shot. But I've seen a bit of the same thing. Only other place would be buried up in the weeds (assuming there are some), but unwilling to come out for topwater.

[Bluebasser86]

I was thinking as I was driving to the lake Saturday "It's been awhile since I caught anything even over 4 pounds". 30 minutes into the morning, I'd caught 1 over 4 and 1 over 5 ?‍♂️I try  to get too wrapped up in it and it just seems to happen when I put enough time in on the right bodies of water.

[Hammer 4]

Just to add to all the above. Try a bigger profile bait, i.e. a 1/2 oz or even a 3/4 oz arky jig with a Rage craw,  or something similar. 

[BrianMDTX]

Well, I had one. 

 

I took my inflatable boat out on the pond this evening. Only brought three rods. One was my MH/F Falcon Lowrider that was rigged with a Rage Craw TR on a 3/0 Gammy EWG. I had a dink hit that right off the bat but that was it. So I took it off and put on a blackberry Mann’s Jelly Worm. Third cast parallel to the bank, it stopped dead as I was crawling it on the bottom. I knew it wasn’t a snag. I put some tension on the line and felt a slight tug, so I set the hook. It started making a run. I set the hook again. It came across the front of my boat fast and went deep. My rod was bent. As it came around the starboard side, I felt the bass pop off. Having caught several bass here 5 lbs and up, this was easily a 5 to 6 lb’er. I have no idea how the bass threw the hook, and it was disappointing to lose it, but dang, it felt good to set the hook on one! 

[DitchPanda]

26 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Well, I had one. 

 

I took my inflatable boat out on the pond this evening. Only brought three rods. One was my MH/F Falcon Lowrider that was rigged with a Rage Craw TR on a 3/0 Gammy EWG. I had a dink hit that right off the bat but that was it. So I took it off and put on a blackberry Mann’s Jelly Worm. Third cast parallel to the bank, it stopped dead as I was crawling it on the bottom. I knew it wasn’t a snag. I put some tension on the line and felt a slight tug, so I set the hook. It started making a run. I set the hook again. It came across the front of my boat fast and went deep. My rod was bent. As it came around the starboard side, I felt the bass pop off. Having caught several bass here 5 lbs and up, this was easily a 5 to 6 lb’er. I have no idea how the bass threw the hook, and it was disappointing to lose it, but dang, it felt good to set the hook on one! 

I feel ya...I've been struggling as of late to get on some quality bass...they have been few and far between. My local pond also has big fish...I've caught them up to 7lbs as recent as last year. Even got a 6 in mid October last year. My pb of 8 3/4 came out if said pond years ago so it broke em. This year my biggest fish is just shy of 4.5. Lost one yesterday that may have been close to that. I will say recently all my better fish...lets say 2.5 and up..have come from brush piles off shore. I've been having my best luck with a Texas rigged big worm...3/0 hook..3\16 bullet weight...zoom mag 2 worm in green pumpkin or June bug.

[Ratherbfishing]

If I were to guess (which I am), I'd say the BIG bass are in their "I'm gonna eat less often but eat bigger meals" summer mode.  Try a BIG plastic worm or creature bait during low light or nighttime hours.